French village near vineyard has 5 times as much cancer as national average

We know according to the California Department of Pesticide Regulation that the top 2 forms of glyphosate (Round Up), now regulated as a probable carcinogen with mandatory warning labels in our state, has been used extensively in Sonoma and other counties as a way to control weeds. According to the state database 84,606 pounds of the top 2 forms of this toxin were used just in Sonoma County vineyards in the latest database of 2013. The use of this chemical has risen dramatically since the introduction fostering super weeds and now super bugs. The USGS did a study and found that the chemical stays in the soil for several years and in the water for 6 months.

The State of California passed AB289 in 2010 to protect our most vulnerable from pesticide spraying next to schools, on a voluntary basis. So far only a handful of counties have adopted the rules and Napa and Sonoma are not one of them. The Watertrough Children’s’ Alliance has tried to repeatedly get this on the county’s books to no avail as they had a who is not organic move next to 5 schools. They continue to litigate in hopes they can protect their children. Santa Barbara adopted and expanded the legislation to include day care, intensive care and hospital zones.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/11895204/Trouble-in-wine-paradise-as-Bordeaux-village-grapples-with-cancer-rates-five-times-national-average.html
Trouble in wine paradise as Bordeaux village grapples with cancer rates five times national average.
By Henry Samuel, Paris

7:41AM BST 28 Sep 2015

A village in south-west France that produces some of the world’s most acclaimed sweet white wines has been hit by claims of a “rocketing” cancer rate and concerns that cases among children may be linked to pesticides.

The former mayor has called for further investigation and legal action has been threatened after authorities found that a link “cannot be excluded”.

Preignac, which lies 25 miles south of Bordeaux and has a population of 2,200, has a child cancer rate five times the national average.

A new report has said scientists cannot rule out the possibility of a link to pesticides sprayed on the vineyards of Sauternes, overlooked by the village’s nursery and primary school.

Yet the man who first raised concerns insists that the village and region are still in denial about the risks. In December 2012, Jean-Pierre Manceau, Preignac’s former mayor and a researcher at the renowned CNRS national science research centre, alerted authorities to its cancer rate. Parents and teachers had expressed concerns after four cases among children.

A 2013 report by France’s national science and medical research institute, Inserm, found that “exposure to pesticides”, including those used on vineyards, during early childhood could “pose a particularly high risk for a child’s development”, and drew links to child leukaemia.

Another report noted the presence of Folpel in the surrounding Gironde region – a fungicide deemed a “probable carcinogen” in the US. In the light of these reports, France’s national health monitoring institute, InSV, and the regional health agency, ASR, ordered a study on cancer cases among local children in 2013.

Their report was published on Aug 5, while most of France was on holiday, and almost went unnoticed until a local alerted Le Parisien, a newspaper.

In careful terms, it said that given the relatively small number of cases – nine in 14 years – “the excess of cancer remains moderate”.

But it went on: “The contribution of pesticides to the risk of cancer cannot be excluded.” It advised local authorities to ensure wine growers did not spray at playtime or “at least warn the headmistress”, and told them to erect protective hedges, aerate classrooms and “wash play area equipment”.

Most villagers remain nonplussed, reasoning that if the products were toxic, they would not be on the market. Mr Manceau said: “There is a law of silence because Sauternes is the lifeblood of the village … If tomorrow we get rid of treatment with pesticides, the local economy of Sauternes wine will collapse.”

He is calling for a wider study on adults in the region, saying local hospital sources have told him the number of cancer cases is “rocketing”.

Last year, a primary class in nearby Villeneuve was intoxicated by products sprayed on vineyards and their teacher was taken to hospital. The government banned, under certain conditions, spraying within 50 yards of schools.

Pascale Mothes, whose son Lucas was diagnosed with leukaemia in 1999, said she only learnt of the latest report from the news and was now considering filing for charges of “endangering others’ lives”.

In Preignac, Jean-Gilbert Bapsalle, the current mayor, has pledged to buy the vineyard nearest the school and create a 200-metre buffer zone. But he said: “One cannot say there is a problem. We need to remain vigilant about possible problems for the whole region, not necessarily in Preignac. Sauternes is very important for the region and a bunch of grapes costs very dear.”